• Loved the book and loved the picture. Congrats! - suelichi

Foucault's Pendulum

Taken at the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e Tecnica (National Museum of Science and Technology) in Milan, Italy.

"That was when I saw the Pendulum. The sphere, hanging from a long wire set into the ceiling of the choir, swayed back and forth with isochronal majesty. I knew -- but anyone could have sensed it in the magic of that serene breathing -- that the period was governed by the square root of the length of the wire and by pi, that number which however irrational to sublunar minds, through a higher rationality binds the circumference and diameter of all possible circles. The time it took the sphere to swing from end to end was determined by an arcane conspiracy between the most timeless of measures: the singularity of the point of suspension, the duality of the plane's dimensions, the triadic beginning of pi, the secret quadratic nature of the root, and the unnumbered perfection of the circle itself." -- Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco

Comments and faves

  1. mapper-montag, guidmo, Static Electrician, GeoWombats, and 35 other people added this photo to their favorites.

  2. GeoWombats (80 months ago | reply)

    Fantastic photo. I've blogged this at mosaik.wordpress.com.

  3. Camille C (71 months ago | reply)

    brilliantly photographed

  4. Chris28mm (67 months ago | reply)

    Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Art of Technology, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.

  5. faith goble (63 months ago | reply)

    Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Luminosity and Light, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.

  6. daileron (62 months ago | reply)

    Ben,
    I wanted to let you know I've used this wonderful image in a post on a blog I edit about geospatial imaging for my company (see www.lizardtech.com/blog/2008/the-cartographic -novel-pitfa.... I've credited you by name. The image is stunning in itself, but it just happens to also mix really well with the background on the blog. It really pops! Anyway, I wanted to thank you, first for "being there" and taking such an evocative image, and then for letting me use it. It made my day.
    Matt

  7. The Spiritual Eclectic (58 months ago | reply)

    Hi, I blogged this photo at thespiritualeclectic.wordpress.com/2008/07/30 /3-nuggets-o...

    Just beautiful! Thanks for sharing your work under a cc license.

  8. jilliembs (53 months ago | reply)

    Thanks for posting you photo on Creative Commons. I've added it to the website mindbodyandsoul.ie:

    Hypnotherapy

    Best wishes :)

  9. Brezon (40 months ago | reply)

    Hi, I've started a group for pictures of pendulums! So...

    You are invited to add this image to www.flickr.com/groups/pendulums

    Thanks,
    Julian

  10. polyglot1 (23 months ago | reply)

    Hi Ben: Thank you so much for this elegantly captured image. I wanted to let you know that I have adopted it for my page on FB: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Acting-Lab/2203435 14667029?sk=... It visually articulates the mission of the Lab--succinct, clear, and stunning. Thank you so much for sharing your work!

  11. sylvar (23 months ago | reply)

    Cool! Will you please credit me at www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2203465780000 56&set=a... in accordance with the license?

  12. blueskies27 (19 months ago | reply)

    This is a great photo ! We chose it for the cover of the December 2011 issue of the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Magazine with the theme Measurement Technologies Past and Present.
    We have the caption and credit to you written: "Cover photo shows a Foucault pendulum hanging in Milan, Italy’s National Museum of Science and Technology. Photo courtesy of sylvar (www.flickr.com/photos/sylvar/70589378/)."
    Is there any of that you want written differently? Thank you!

  13. sylvar (19 months ago | reply)

    blueskies27: That's great! I'd be proud if you'd use my name (Ben Ostrowsky) instead of my username. If it's not too late to make that change, of course.

    Ben

keyboard shortcuts: previous photo next photo L view in light box F favorite < scroll film strip left > scroll film strip right ? show all shortcuts